


too hot (hot damn)

by IKHoldrige73



Series: there's room enough for all of us [1]
Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), DC Animated Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Self-Indulgent, Superhero Snuggle Pile (TM), and you can take it whatever way you want, it's a good au tho, it's so silly and fluffy, listen someone needed to write it, so i did, this au has gotten out of control and it hasn't even been written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 11:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7756885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IKHoldrige73/pseuds/IKHoldrige73
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“There is nothing false about what I’m saying,” Hal says smugly, crossing his arms over his chest, daring Tony to speak against him. </p>
<p>Tony bristles. </p>
<p>“Steve!” he whines “Tell Hal that you’re a 110% hotter than Barry!”</p>
<p>or </p>
<p>How Tony and Hal bicker over the stupidest things, and Barry and Steve get dragged into ridiculous plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	too hot (hot damn)

**Author's Note:**

> So, here I am, it's almost 3AM and I should be asleep. 
> 
> This whole fic is just one giant cuddle fic, I'm not even kidding, and I'm somewhat proud of it. You can find slightly bit more about this AU at ikholdrige-works.tumblr.com/tagged/au;room-enough-for-all-of-us, so check that out if you're interested!! Long story short, Hal and Tony would be amazing friends, and Barry and Steve are joint by their need to protect their stupid boyfriends from getting into too much trouble. 
> 
> Also, I'm a sucker for latino!Tony so there's a small reference to it like almost at the end. 
> 
> I'm not even sure what to say, I just want to go to bed. Please enjoy!!

“You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

Barry’s focus is ripped away from the movie he had Steve watch— _Marley and Me_ is an important, heartbreaking movie, he’s not going to let Tony convince him otherwise—and turns over the couch’s back rest to stare at the two brunettes coming into the tower’s common area.

Hal and he have been visiting the tower for a little over three days now. It was a nice break from his usual routine back at home, but it was, by no means, vacations for Flash or the Green Lantern. They’ve been ordered by Batman to cover some stuff over with the Avengers, and Tony had been kind enough to open an entire floor just for the two of them. Barry thought it was a little over the top, but Hal had shut him down, reminding him that their friend is _constantly_ over the top.

The day was quiet, almost too much, and Barry was left with a lot of cooped up energy that he didn’t know what to do with. Steve had invited him to his morning run with Sam, but he’d lapped them over a hundred times, and it was beginning to get seriously boring. The only highlight of being out there were probably Sam’s constant exasperated noises when he saw Steve arrive with Barry on tow—he said something about stupid super soldiers and their stupid superfast friends making his life miserable—but other than that, the day had been pretty uneventful.

He’d sparred with Natasha earlier, and served as Clint’s moving target a little after, but nothing seemed to stick with him. He was frustrated, and Steve noticed it when he found him sulking in the gym, trying to dodge Clint’s arrows. The super soldier could relate in a sense, and had told him that they could watch a movie together if it would get his mind off of things.

(Barry knew it wasn’t going to help, but Steve was _trying_. After their initial tense relationship and the mission that finally had them become friends, Roger had been overcompensating for the way he had treated Barry. The Flash thought it was ridiculous, and had told the Captain that he didn’t need to make up for anything—after all, they’ve _both_ been incredibly unfair to each other—but Steve insisted to treat him more kindly than was necessary.)

Which brought them both to the common floor in the tower, where Steve and he had sat down to watch what Barry deemed A Very Important Movie (capitalization absolutely vital). They had been watching the heart wrenching movie for a little over half-an hour, and so far Barry had succeeded in not vibrating through the couch. It helped that Steve talked to him about what was happening in the movie, but when he heard Hal’s scuffle with Tony coming through the elevator doors, he had taken it as an opportunity to _finally_ do something that would get rid of all the excess energy.

He’s next to Hal in a second after pausing the movie, leaning a little into his boyfriend’s personal space with a small smile.

“Care to share with the class?” Steve steals the words right out of his mouth as he stand up from the couch himself “What’s all the fuss about?"

Hal doesn’t seem so angry as much as he seems mildly amused about whatever it was he was discussing with Tony, but Stark does seem slightly disgruntled by the argument. Barry has always found their friendship interesting (especially that first time he had met Tony Stark when Hal had asked him for help to save his friend, and Tony had told him he was lucky to have a friend like Harold Jordan in his life, as if Hal wouldn’t go above and beyond to help Tony continue to live) and watching them interact was always fun.

“Hal is making false accusations,” Tony says simply, turning towards his—well, Barry still wasn’t sure if there was a label on what Steve and Tony had, but he was pretty sure there was something.

“There is nothing false about what I’m saying,” Hal says smugly, crossing his arms over his chest, daring Tony to speak against him.

Tony bristles.

“Steve!” he whines “Tell Hal that you’re a 110% hotter than Barry!”

Barry can’t avoid the confused noise that comes from his throat as he turns to arch an eyebrow in Steve’s direction. He tries not to laugh when he catches his counterpart blushing to the tip of his ears, and allows him to compose himself before speaking up.

“Why is this an argument?” the Flash wonders, still staring at Steve “Steve is the epitome of human perfection.”

Which is when Steve finally comes down from his embarrassed high, and looks almost _offended_ at what slips out of Barry’s mouth. Allen has always thought his friend was attractive—even when they couldn’t stand to be on the same room together—and he wasn’t about to deny it any time soon. If Dinah constantly teased him about having a wittle crush on the super soldier, well, no one had to know about that.

“Oh, shut up,” Steve says, taking Barry completely by surprise “You could pull the whole sexy-librarian thing as if it was as easy as breathing—you can’t say _I’m_ hotter than you.”

And then Barry feels his own cheeks heating up, and he wants to absolutely back track out of the situation like _yesterday_. He stares at Steve a little bit longer (mostly because he can’t wrap his head around what he just said, but also because he’s not sure he could stand looking at Hal or Tony) and the two of them are now blushing furiously. He’s sure Steve is just as embarrassed over calling Barry a _sexy librarian_ as he was over being called _a 110% hotter than Barry_.

(Oh god, he hates Hal and Tony.)

“What?” Tony’s voice finally brings them both out of their impromptu staring contest, and Barry’s head whips over to look at him “No—what? I wasn’t—that’s not what we meant!”

Hal, on the other hand, looks thoroughly amused when Barry turns towards him for an explanation.

“Tony says that Steve’s body heat is higher than a normal human’s,” Hal explains, rolling his eyes “But I told him that he can’t _possibly_ be hotter than you are.”

Oh. They meant it _literally_.

“I don’t know what weird secret crush you both have for each other,” Hal continues then, smiling wolfishly “But should we even be concerned about it?”

Tony waves his hands around frantically—and wow, Barry will never get tired of watching that happen; Tony doesn’t even realize how fun he is sometimes—and brings the attention back to what he deems actually important.

“Never mind their weird geeky bond!” Iron Man spits out “This is an actual concern of mine! Hal can’t go around telling me that my human space heater is no longer the best in the business!”

Barry arches an eyebrow, finally feeling courageous enough to meet Steve’s eyes again, and finds Steve still trying to fight of his blush—Irish skin tends to do that, he supposes. Nevertheless, the Captain looks as confused as he is feeling, as he walks around the couch to get closer to the other three men in the room.

“So, you’re _concerned_ about who of us is warmer?” he asks, voice hesitant and laced with confusion.

Barry understands the sentiment.

Both Hal and Tony answer with a loud ‘Yes!’ at the same time, and Barry tries not to roll his eyes at how absolutely ridiculous they’re both being right now. Thanks to them, he wouldn’t be able to look at Steve straight in the eye for a while, but here they were discussing the most stupid thing that he had ever heard about.

“It’s obviously you, Bar,” Hal speaks again, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend’s waist and kissing his cheeks softly—Barry thinks Hal is too embarrassing sometimes “There’s no one warmer than a speedster.”   

Tony pouts in front of them, and tries to pull Steve close to him as well. The Captain evades him easily, shaking his head and rolling his eyes at his partner’s antics.

“You’re being ridiculous, Tony,” Steve informs him, but the smile that graces his lips is fond “There’s no way—“

“I know!” Tony interrupts, eyes widening like he just got the Best Idea Ever, and Barry is actually, _truly_ scared about this “I know how to figure it out!”

The other three turn to look at him, their attention completely on the genius. Steve and Barry both know this is going to end up badly for the two of them, but Hal seems absolutely on board with whatever Tony has planned.

“Let’s change partners for the night.”

//

First thing Barry thinks about that night is that he is definitely _never_ listening to whatever Tony has to say ever again. Second thing that goes through his mind is that Tony is smaller than what he’s used to, and that suddenly he’s someone’s pillow for the night when it’s usually the other way around. Third thing in his thoughts is that Tony’s arc reactor is a nice night light, and that he has a sudden urge to make shadow figures in the ceiling. Fourth thing he notices is that Tony talks _way_ too much.

“You’re warmer,” is the first thing out of Tony’s lips when they’ve finally settled down on the bed in the tower’s penthouse.

The bed is softer than the one in the floor Tony had opened for the Justice League members, and Barry can feel the use it has gone through when he was lying back against it. He’s surprised to find that he feels at _home_ here, and wonders just how much the Avengers have managed to infiltrate his life ever since the first time he ran into Tony’s workshop. Hell, he’s switched boyfriends for the night with Captain America, of _course_ this bed feels like home, too.

“Why on earth are you warmer, Allen?”

Barry just sighs, shifting slightly so that Tony’s elbow isn’t digging into his side.

“It’s a speedster thing,” his explanation is half-assed, but Barry wants to _sleep_ “Everything in me moves faster than a normal human. Faster movements create friction, friction generates heat—and then you get an upgraded human space heater.”

Tony stays quiet for a minute, but Barry doesn’t get to revel in that when Iron Man pokes him in the chest, almost as if he’s reprimanding him.

“Leave _my_ human space heater _alone_ ,” Tony seethes, but there’s no fire behind his words “He’s a good human space heater—not all of us can be struck by lightning and get super speed.”

Barry can actually hear Tony’s pout in his voice.

“Can we sleep now?” the Flash pleads with his friend, “Because I really want to sleep, Tony.”

There’s silence again, this time a little bit longer, and Barry finally lets his eyes shutter close so he can go to sleep. He zeroes in on Tony’s breathing, the rise and fall of his chest against his own chest, the outline of the arc reactor pressed against his ribcage. It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s something to hold on to while he tries not to vibrate out of his own skin.

“Don’t tell Steve, but I kinda like you better as a human space heater.”

Barry barely registers what he’s saying, and then there’s silence again. Tony isn’t very kind to being ignored, though, so he raises his voice when he talks for a second time.

“Does everything in you really vibrate, though?”  

It’s going to be a long night.

//

“Look, I mean no offense,” Hal’s voice cuts through the darkness “But you’re _cold_ , Spangles.”

Steve thinks the darkness is too much for him. He’s used to sleeping with Tony’s arc reactor shining some sort of light against the walls, reassuring him that he was right there next to him, but now that he’s switched with Barry for the night, he’s missing the familiar blue light.

Hal’s dimensions are also foreign to him. Where Tony had been soft and squishy (and _god_ , he loved the squishy) Hal had hard muscles, earned over years of fighting as Green Lantern. It wasn’t like Iron Man wasn’t strong, but Tony has the body of a rich billionaire, and not exactly that of a flying night-light that belongs in the duty line of a space police.

(Which was _weird_ to him still sometimes, but Hal was living proof of how much the world had changed for him.)

“It’s okay,” he mumbles back, shifting slightly “I know Barry is warmer than me—I do tend to stand next to him sometimes, you know?”

He feels Hal’s laughter against his chest, where the man’s back is pressed against him, and smiles a little himself. It’s such an odd thing, what they’re doing that night, and although he’s wishing Tony were here instead, at least Hal is good company.

“ _Should_ I be worried, though?” Hal asks, sincerity dripping from his words “Because if you guys have a thing for each other I don’t think I can compete against the American Way.”

It’s Steve’s turn to laugh, and he shakes his head, aware that Hal probably can’t see him.

“No,” he says instead “No, of course you don’t have to worry. Barry loves you—he and I are just friends. Good ones at that; you’re a very lucky guy.”

Hal’s shoulders relax, and Steve feels himself doing the same. He’d been adamant about switching off brunettes for the night, but Tony had insisted—he’s glad it’s not as awkward as he thought it’d be.

“I am,” Hal answers back, softly, before a yawn interrupts him—they should probably be getting some sleep “You’re lucky for Tony, too. Tony is amazing.”

Steve smiles, burying his head into the pillow and closing his eyes “I guess we’re both very lucky.”

//

“How do you shut him up?”

The next morning Steve is already up and fully dressed when Barry walks into the kitchen, pajama bottoms still wrinkled from sleep, and hair sticking up everywhere. The Captain takes a sip out of his coffee mug, arching a questioning eyebrow towards his counterpart.

“Rough night?” he asks.

Barry looks close to growling at him as he plops down on the seat next to him, leaning heavily against his side. Steve has to brace himself so they don’t both fall to the floor, but Barry’s warmth emanates from him—why did Tony ever think he was going to win the argument when Steve can literally feel waves of heat rolling off the speedster if he so much as stood next to him?

“He talks so much,” Barry mumbles, and Steve wonders if his friend is going to fall asleep on him “He talks, and talks, and talks—how do you ever shut him up, Steve?”

It’s more of a whine, and Steve doesn’t want to laugh at his friend’s expense, but he does anyway.

“You have to wear him off a little bit first,” Steve answers nonchalant “It’s a feat on itself when Tony Stark is rendered speechless, so not many have gotten there yet.”

Barry groans, and turns around to bury his face straight into Steve’s shoulder. The Captain just smiles fondly at his friend, content that they’re finally coming to an agreement on what boundaries they’re willing to over-step or enforce.

“You know, usually, when I wake up, Barry is _still_ there with me,” Hal comes into the kitchen, hair ruffled and a smile on his face.

Steve slides a cup of coffee over to Hal, shrugging with one shoulder so as to not move Barry around. His breathing has gotten slower, and Steve is almost sure the Flash just fell asleep on him.

“Well, he had no qualm leaving my ass to freeze to death at the penthouse,” Tony slides into the kitchen right after Hal, stealing the offered cup of coffee, earning him and offended huff from Hal “Sleep is for the weak, Barry Allen.”

Barry stirs against Steve’s shoulder and groans again—so, not asleep then.

“You kept me awake until 4 in the morning,” Barry accuses, turning slightly to glare at Tony “That you engineers have weird night hours doesn’t mean that the rest of the world does.”

“You’re a _scientist_ , and a _superhero,_ ” Tony shoots back, looking unimpressed “How do you have normal hours?”

Hal takes the cup of coffee away from Tony again, sticking his tongue out when Iron Man tries to bite one of his fingers and gliding away from him before he has the chance to steal the drink away again. The Green Lantern finds himself on the other side of the counter, where Barry is still leaning against Steve, and plops down on the bar stool next to his boyfriend. Allen just groans one more time, and pushes himself off Steve to lean against Hal’s shoulder—it’s a good thing they’re the same height or there would’ve been hell to pay.

“He doesn’t,” Hal says, kissing the top of Barry’s head before sipping _his_ coffee “But he’s off-duty. He likes his goddamn sleep, Stark.”

Before Tony can start a war over the coffee mug, Steve leans over to grab the pot and refills his own mug, offering it to the genius in hopes of pacifying his grumpy morning shtick. When Tony’s fingers curl around the cup as he takes one big gulp, Steve knows he’s won the battle.

“So, how did your experiment go, Shellhead?” Steve wants to poke fun at him after he embarrassed him yesterday, and this is the perfect opportunity.

Tony glares at him over the rim of his mug, but doesn’t offer any commentary whatsoever. Tony Stark can be a spoiled brat if he wants to be one; Steve will just make sure to get back at him later.

“I totally won,” Hal says, carding his fingers absentmindedly through Barry’s hair “I absolutely won and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Iron Man turns his nose upwards and away from Hal, mimicking a very angry kitten, and rolls his eyes.

“How would you know?” Tony preens “You weren’t there to see the result of my experiment.”

Barry, who had been quiet for a while now, stirred in Hal’s shoulder, a devious smile adorning his lips.

“Oh, but I was,” the speedster announces “You said not to tell Steve, but that you liked me better as a human space heater now.”

Steve turns to look at Tony, hand raised up to press against his chest, utter betrayal in his eyes.

“Babe, I’m _hurt_.”

//

“Remind me how we ended up here?”

Barry feels Steve’s voice vibrating in his chest where his head is pressed against the taller blond, and he lets himself laugh a little about the situation.

After that morning in the communal kitchen (where Natasha had walked in on them while Tony was trying his best to explain to Steve what he meant when he said he liked Barry better) the four of them had parted ways. Hal had to report something back to Watchtower later that day, while Tony had work down at the workshop. Steve and Barry were mostly unoccupied—since Barry was _responsible_ and had given his report to Watchtower yesterday like they were supposed to—but Allen didn’t want to intrude on Steve’s morning routine like the day before, so they each left to work by themselves.

And now here they were again, sprawled out in Tony’s bed at the penthouse, and Barry doesn’t know how four grown men even _fit_ in a bed like this.

He has his head resting on top of Steve’s chest, an arm slung over the man’s waist while Hal is pressed to his back, breath ghosting against his neck. Tony was across from him, head nestled between Steve’s head and shoulders, fingers twined with Rogers’ own next to Barry’s head.

They are, in definition, a Snuggle Pile, but Barry is still trying to understand how they got here.

(Something about Steve wanting to know just how warm Barry was, and then Hal and Tony mixed in there somewhere for reasons unknown to him. Probably because they _were_ worried about that supposedly secret crush Steve and Barry had for each other, but whatever.)

“Just enjoy it,” Tony’s voice is muffled against Steve’s collarbone, and Barry can feel Steve wiggle underneath him—he’s probably tickling “Unless you’re uncomfortable, in which case we could arrange that.”

There’s movement above Allen’s head, so he figures Steve is shaking his head.

“No, it’s fine,” Steve’s voice is deep—deeper than Hal’s—and it’s strange to have his head pressed against his chest when he talks “I just can’t understand _why_ we ended up here.”

Hal is almost half-asleep, Barry knows, but he stirs in his sleep, reaching with his hand past Barry’s head and straight to Steve’s mouth. Allen isn’t sure if his boyfriend has accomplished what he was trying to do, but it does get the Captain to stop talking.

“Quiet now, All-American boy,” Hal coos “It’s sleepy time—you know how grumpy Barry gets when he won’t be left alone to sleep.

Steve’s chest rises and falls with the deep sigh he takes, and Barry is faintly aware of a thumb rubbing at his temple briefly—he wonders if he’s imagined it.

“Sleep well, all of you.”

Tony mumbles something in Spanish, finally getting the memo about _sleep_ , and Barry’s eyes slide shut after he mumbles a response back. Hal’s arm is wrapped back over his waist, and he moves his hand to lace his fingers through Jordan’s with another deep breath. There’s quiet for three minutes, the light of the arc reactor shining behind Barry’s eye-lids, the sound of three even breathing patterns slowly growing more and more shallow, and Steve’s heart beating against his rib-cage.

And it’s good. It’s home.

//

+1

“You know,” Hal says the next morning against Barry’s ear, waking him up almost immediately, but he knows his boyfriend isn’t talking to him “Tony and I slept together _way_ back in the day—maybe you and Barry can even it out now, to get your crush outta the way.”

He feels himself heat up almost immediately, eyes widening almost comically, and then he hears Steve’s spluttering response.

They don’t look at each other in the eye for _at least_ a month.

**Author's Note:**

> my lovely wife, anna, and i may or may not have talked about a ot4, but that's irrelevant, right?
> 
> right.


End file.
